Last Sunday as we were leaving church, Kira stepped off the curb and fell. She came up crying and I thought she'd really been hurt badly. That is when I saw the 'high-heeled' wedge sandal that she held in her hand, the toe strap pulled out and broken. She was devastated! You see, these were very special shoes--her first 'high heels'.
She'd looked at them in the gift shop every day while we were in Aruba. She'd said she just loved them! I thought they were too high and too old for her. But, as was the case, her birthday fell while we were in Aruba and we decided to give in and surprise her with them. I hid them in our luggage and brought them home with us. When she opened our gift at the party here, she was ecstatic to see these special shoes.
She'd worn them almost every day since. Now, she was devastated that they'd broken--these special shoes that "could never be replaced." She cried all the way home and even more when she told her Daddy. We realized the enormity of this event to her while reading her journal at back to school night this week She'd actually listed it as #1 of the "seven worst things that had ever happened" to her.
Tonight my sweet little daughter dropped a piece of pottery that she'd painted last week and had just brought home from Color Me Mine. (This has not been a good week.) She was so proud of it, taking it out of the wrap to show her Daddy. In her excitement, she somehow lost her grip. As it was falling to the floor, she screamed "Mommy!!"... But none of us could get it before it crashed to the floor. She burst out in uncontrollable tears. It was awful! I did all I could to console her; hugs, talking, even showing her that it could be fixed...just two clean breaks that a bit of super glue could take care of.
As I was trying to calm her down and doing my best to make everything 'like new', I realized that these are probably just the beginning of so many things that will break her heart through the years. I realize that I can't keep these things from happening to her, but that I will do my best to always be there for her and to stand by and support her as she deals with each one. Here's hoping that the worst heartbreak she'll ever experience will be a broken shoe or a broken piece of pottery.
